1st Sunday of Lent
You will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
In today’s second reading, St. Paul tells us that confessing that Jesus is Lord and believing in his resurrection will bring us to the ultimate goal of our lives: heaven itself. But this is one of those “gospel truths” that comes with an asterisk attached.
We recite the Nicene Creed at every Sunday Mass. It’s another version of Paul’s confession of faith. So if we say it with faith, isn’t that all we need to do to get to heaven? Not exactly. Remember, even the devil believes that Jesus is the “son of the Most high God” (Luke 8:28). Remember too that Jesus warns us, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
Clearly, there must be more to this than simply reciting the truths of our faith. Something has to happen inside of us as well. Something has to come into us to change us and make us become more and more worthy of the gift of eternal life. And that something is faith.
Faith in Jesus sanctifies our hearts. It directs the affections of our hearts toward Jesus. It moves us to say no to sin. The devil’s “belief” didn’t sanctify his heart. It didn’t move him to have any affection for Jesus. If anything, it made him hate Jesus all the more. That’s because he didn’t put his faith in Jesus.
Every day this Lent, the Holy Spirit wants to move you toward a deeper faith, a faith that strengthens your love for Jesus and other people.
Think of it this way. Married couples know that love involves much more than saying and believing the words “I love you.” They know it means staying united, serving each other, working out differences, and putting each other above themselves. Likewise, confessing Jesus as Lord and believing it in your heart is much more than accepting a fact and saying it. Confessing and believing is a way of faith. It’s a way of life.
“Jesus, I believe that you are the Savior of the world. Let this faith continue to sanctify my heart.”
Deuteronomy 26:4-10
Psalm 91:1-2, 10-15
Luke 4:1-13
